In “Escape Artist,” Joseph McAleer’s premise is that his uneminent subject was in fact a remarkable fellow who deserves to be much better known. He calls Harry Perry Robinson (1859-1930) “a latter-day Tocqueville” whose “march through history, a near-epic story,” exemplified “an exciting personal story worthy of Horatio Alger.”

Whether readers of this book will enjoy it depends, I suspect, on whether they agree with Mr. McAleer’s thesis. Robinson’s father was a Church of England clergyman who served in India and eventually…

This post first appeared on wsj.com

You May Also Like

If you’re rich there are legal – and not so legal – ways to lower your tax bill | Robert Palmer

Ordinary people may play by the rules, but the British tax system…

Cost of living crisis: some low-paid workers miss out on £326 help

People on universal credit have payments reduced to zero because of a…

Gender fluid engineer wins landmark UK discrimination case

Judge decides that there is protection for non-binary people under the Equality…

Jürgen Klopp wants Liverpool to be brave and rebuild Anfield fortress

Manager is pondering a tough baptism for his newly signed defenders when…